NINETEENTH EVENING
THE SON-IN-LAW
NINETEENTH EVENING
"Tell us, grandfather, who is Chanotedah?" bursts out Waola even before the children are fairly seated. "Uncle told me to-day when I was hunting to beware of the Little Man of the Woods, for if I should meet him I might lose my way and never smell the camp fire again! But when I asked where he was to be found, and how I should know him, he only laughed at me and went on making arrows."
"This Chanotedah is indeed a mischievous fellow," explains the good old man. "He is no larger than a three-year-old child, and is covered with hair. His home is in a hollow tree, and his weapons are the brilliantly colored feathers of gay birds. He delights in confusing the lone hunter who is so unlucky as to come upon him in the depths of the forest. That you may know why this little man has a grudge against our race, I will tell you a story."
THE SON-IN-LAW
Once upon a time there was a young girl whose parents had been taken by the enemy, and who lived alone with her elder brother in the forest, without kinsfolk or neighbors. The young man was a clever hunter who provided more than enough for their needs, and the sister kept his lodge in order and his moccasins well mended, so that for a long time they lived happily together without other company.
A day came, however, when the young man wished to go upon a journey and to see something of the world. He therefore called upon the Little Man of the Woods, Chanotedah, and begged him to look after his sister during his absence. He then took his bow and quiver full of arrows, and set out to discover strange countries.